Driving wheel



Nov. 24, 1936.

C. HQ MEKEEL JR DRIVING WHEEL Filed Sept. 22, 1934 4 ZSheets-Sheet 1 N v I\ 2; r M mmm\ h A ml/l 1 a H:

Nov. 24, 1936. c, MEKEEL, JR 2031948 DRIVING WHEEL Filed Sept. 22, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W1 I I w Patented Nov. 24, 1936 UNHTED STATES PATENT GFFIQE DRIVING WHEEL pany, Birdsboro, -Pa.,

sylvania a corporation of Penn- Application September 22, 1934, Serial No. 745,043

15 Claims.

My invention relates to locomotive wheel centers and particularly to provision accommodating Withdrawing of knuckle pins from side bars used with such wheels.

The main purpose of my invention is to provide space Within the wheel center for the knuckle pin when and as it is withdrawn, Without necessity for perforating the wheel for this purpose.

A further purpose is to provide for withdrawal of knuckle pins without coincident necessity for perforating the wheel at this point, allowing any openings provided in the Wheel for lightening or other purposes to be placed at points selected on their merits and independently of the knuckle pin withdrawal.

A further purpose is to so place the corrugations of a corrugated wheel center that the gutter of one of the corrugations faces the knuckle pin in one position of the wheel and side bars so that the knuckle pin can be withdrawn into and along the gutter of the corrugation, widening or otherwise specially forming the corrugation at this point where the size of the wheel or the size of the pin or other conditions would make it difiicult otherwise to remove the pin into the gutter.

A further purpose is to place lightening openings in the corrugated web of a locomotive wheel center Within those parts of the web which lie in relatively neutral position as regards compression no on the inside of the wheel and tension on the outside of the wheel, and at a distance both from the hubs and the rim.

A further purpose is to secure the benefits of the purposes above in a corrugated wheel center having corrugations of nearly equal thickness flaring outwardlyfrom the interior toward the rim, crowding the corrugations together at shorter pitch and greater depth axially of the wheel near the hub and at greater pitch and less depth axially of the wheel near the rim.

Further purposes will appear in the specification and in the claims.

The invention has been illustrated by one general form only with a slight variation, the form and variation being selected as practical, effective and generally desirable but primarily because of their excellence in illustration of the principles of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of four locomotive driving wheels and their side bars showing corrugated webs in the centers.

Figure 2 is a section of Figure 1 upon line 2--2.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the structure of Figure 1 corresponding to Figure 1 except that the 55- parts are'shown in another position.

7 Figures 4 and 5 are enlarged side elevations of the same wheel of Figures 1 and 3 with a fragmentary showing of the side bars used with the wheel Figure 6 is a fragmentary front View showing lightening openings between the ribs and the gutters and a plain gutter to receive the pin.

Figure '7 is a section upon line i'! of Figure 4.

Figures 8, 9, and 10 are sections taken upon lines 8--B, 9--9, and ifl-ifl respectively of Figure 4.

Figures ll, l2, l3, and 14: are sections taken upon lines H-H, i2l2, i3-l3, and I l-I4 of Figure 6.

In the drawings similar numerals indicate like parts.

Locomotive wheels illustrated here as IE, IT, l8 and ii! are shown as connected by central or main side bars and supplemental or auxiliary side bars 2| or 22. One feature of the present invention is intended to accommodate the removal of the knuckle pins 23 by which the side bars are connected at knuckles 24, and therefore is predic ated upon the presence of a plurality of side bars.

The problem of removal of the knuckle pins without undue disassemblage of the entire side bar structure has been attempted to be solved by the use of openings in the wheels through which the pins may be removed. This proposal is open to the objection that it may be desired to have the web of the wheel imperforate and that, in any event, even if lightening openings or openings to facilitate oiling be sought, they should be placed in the positions most desirable for these purposes and the selection of these positions should not be complicated by openings to meet other requirements. The opening for pin withdrawal must be relatively large and its position must be selected with a View for its pin withdrawal use and not for the lightening or oiling functions.

The present invention is intended to avoid this'disadvantage and at the same time to fully provide for quick and convenient withdrawal of the knuckle pin.

The wheels shown comprise tires 25 and centers 26, made up of rims 2i and the usual main hubs 28, crank pin hubs 29 and counterbalances 3B and 3!. Crank pins 32, 33 and 3d are shown.

The web 35 is corrugated and is preferably corrugated throughout the entire space between the hubs on the one hand and the counterbalances and rims on the other hand.

The corrugations are generally radial and, except where the shape of the corrugation is altered to provide a wider or flatter gutter or a laterally apertured gutter to accommodate knuckle pin removal, the corrugations are of approximately uniform curved section at the same distance from the wheel axis, flaring outwardly. The pitch from center to center of rib to rib or gutter to gutter is much shorter close to the hubs than out near the rim with a corresponding taper to the wheel in sections through the axis due to the greater extension of the corrugations in a direction parallel to the axis close to the axis than at the outer part near the rim, as illustrated best in Figures '7, ll, 12, and 13.

With nearly the same thickness of metal throughout the corrugations and substantially the same length of web in circumferential sections of the same angular extent near the hub as at intermediate points and near the rim, the wheel presents substantially the same strength at all distances from hub to rim to withstand compression and tension, and substantially the same strength throughout to withstand shearing stresses.

As thus constructed the corrugations flare radially from corrugations of short pitch and considerable depth near the main hub to corrugations of much greater pitch and of shallow depth near the rim.

The flaring of the corrugations results in the taper of the web depth indicated; and this taper is provided by coning occurring substantially all of it in the front face of the wheel.

The bends alternate between thus forming the convex surfaces of the inside or rear face of the wheel, preferably extending nearly radially and thus lying approximately in planes perpendicular to the wheel axis whereas the bends defining the convex surfaces of the outer or front face of the wheel lie in conical surfaces coaxial with the wheel axis.

As will be seen later the construction contemplates the use of normal corrugations throughout the web, in some cases with special corrugations for pin removal where needed.

The present invention takes advantage of the con-cavity of the outwardly facing gutters to place one of them in position so that at some part of the turn of the wheel the gutter will lie directly back of a knuckle pin to be removed, using a special shape of gutter if, when and as required by the length and shape of the pin to be received, and passing the pin out from the knuckle into the gutter from which it can be removed by sidewise sliding or by tilting as provided for, outwardly along the path of the gutter and finally away from the face of the wheel.

The web of the wheel center is made up of bends 36 and 3'! united by sides 38. The bends present inwardly and outwardly exposed convex ribs 39 and 50 which are chiefly in evidence in the inner and outer faces of the center, and inside these ribs, forming the insides of the respective bends, lie outwardly and inwardly facing concave grooves or gutters 4| and 42. The outer limiting bent surfaces of the front of the wheel take maximum tension and the inner bends take maximum compression.

By placing one of the outwardly facing gutters ll in position at some part of the movement of the wheel where it will lie directly back of a knuckle pin to be removed and in position far enough out radially from the main hub for the flare of the gutter to provide room for removal of the pin, space is provided into which the pin can be withdrawn without such weakening of the wheel as would be caused by providing an opening at this point.

The circle 43 shows the path of travel of the knuckle pin with respect to the wheel and may thus be taken as the locus of the points at which the pin may be removed.

I find that there are two angular positions of each wheel at which such a gutter may be located within the range of circle 43 where the gutter will be or can be made to be both deep enough and wide enough to permit removal of the pin into the gutter.

Recognizing that normal desirable pitches for corrugations will provide suflicient gutter width and depth in some cases at a permissible distance well out from the main hub and well inside the rim for knuckle pin removal without any special accommodation of the gutter to the purpose other than distributing corrugations in such a way that a gutter will lie directly back of the pin in one of the wheel positions, I recognize also that because of the size of the wheel or the size or special shape of the knuckle pin it will be necessary to accommodate the gutter to the purpose in many cases. This can be done by widening the gutter while maintaining the same general contour as for the gutters of other corrugations (i. e., increasing the pitch across this gutter) or by making the gutter of special shape, such as relatively fiat bottomed and square sided without altering the pitch, or by deepening the gutter or by combinations of these several means.

In Figures 4 and 5 the gutters t! are normal gutters but gutters 4 l both within the path of the circle 43 have been specially constructed to give relatively steep sides 44 and E5 and a relatively flat bottom 45, all extending through suflicient radial extent to provide not only for the backing out of a knuckle pin into the gutter but for sliding the knuckle pin radially of the center without tilting of the pin, from the point of withdrawal of the pin to a point at which the pin can be lifted away from the wheel.

Since the conditions for withdrawal are substantially identical at both of the gutters 4i it does not matter which of the gutters is used for withdrawal except as the position at which the wheel stops may make it more convenient to reach one gutter position than to reach the other by a slight turning of the wheel.

Comparing Figure 8 showing the section of one of the special gutters ll in Figures 4 and 5 close to the main hub with Figure 11 taken at approximately the same distance from the wheel axis but of a normal corrugation not having a specially formed gutter it will be seen that there is but very slight difference between the two.

Comparing Figures 9 and 12, taken at intermediate positions, it will be seen that the shape of the gutter ll has been altered quite materially to form gutter M in Figures 4 and 5 as compared with the normal gutter in Figure 4 or Figure 6, the alteration being both in. the shape of the gutter and in the width of the inner part of the gutter. On the other hand, the outer sections of the special gutter all of Figure 10 and of the normal gutter in Figures 4 and 6 are not nearly so far different as is the case in the intermediate gutter sections.

The section in Figure 7 would be approximately the same for both the special gutter and the normal gutter but with additional shading if the normal gutter of Figures 4 and 5 is to be shown, rather than the gutter a! of these figures.

In locomotive wheels the opinions of engineers controlling as to railroad equipment differ widely as to the character of wheel center needed, even under the same conditions, and changing conditions make differences in the center structure desirable. For this reason it is quite important for some purposes and to satisfy the desires of some engineers to provide imperforate webs, for which the present invention is well suited, since the withdrawal of the pin does not require an opening. Where the imperforate character of the web is not controlling it is at times quite desirable to lighten portions of the web by forming openings in the web, or provide holes for oiling uses, where the strength otherwise secured is not needed. The places at which the openings can be placed may here be selected from the standpoint of the lightening or oiling advantage alone and are not warped by a requirement that there shall be an opening back of a knuckle pin.

The weight of the load is, of course, acting upon the wheel at all times, causing compressive stresses along the full width of the wheel which are reduced and at times overcome to cause tension along the outside of the wheel with additional compression at the inside of the wheel when there is pressure against the wheel flange. The compression due to the weight is thus the minimum compression upon the inside of the wheel, being increased by the effect upon the wheel as a beam due to these lateral pressures but the compression upon the outside of the wheel when the wheel is at rest or in motion upon a straight track is then at a maximum and is reduced and changed to tension with exertion of these lateral pressures.

For the reasons above openings in the wheel for lightening or other purposes have been placed within the bends comprising the outer elements of the wheel rather than in those comprising the inner elements of the Wheel, as less likely to injuriously affect the wheel.

Since the outside compressive stresses change through zero to outside tensional stresses the outside bends have been viewed herein as more nearly neutral in their stresses (as regards conditions of compression and tension) than the inside bends and the openings have correspondingly been placed in most of the figures in the outside bends. In Figure 14 the openings have been placed within the sides of the corrugations upon the theory that even when the outer bends are under maximum tensional stress and the inner bends subject to maximum compressive stresses the sides of the corrugations may be regarded as in neutral position as between these two stresses.

The metal is preferably reinforced about lightening openings so as to avoid starting of breaks at the edges of the openings. Such openings are seen at 4? reinforced by beads at 48.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain part or all of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods and a knuckle pin joining them, and a wheel connected to one of the side rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and a corrugated web joining the hubs and the rim, the gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin in position to lie back of the knuckle pin at one of the wheel positions, said corrugations being of such size and position with respect to the path of the pin as to provide room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin.

2. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods and a knuckle pin joining them, and a wheel connected to one of the side rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and a corrugated web joining the hubs and the rim, the gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin in position to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions, said corrugations being of such size and position with respect to the path of the pin as to provide room for removal of the knuckle pin into the gutter and for passage of the pin when removed to position for withdrawal laterally from the gutter while the side rods are in place.

3. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods and a knuckle pin joining them and a wheel connected with one of the side rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim and main and crank pin hubs and a radially corrugated web joining the hubs and the rim, the gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin in position to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions, the gutter being of such size and position with respect to the path of the pin as to provide room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin.

4. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods and a knuckle pin joining them and a wheel connected with one of the side rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim and main and crank pin hubs and a radially corrugated web joining the hubs and rim and having the gutters of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin in position to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions, the gutter being of such size and position with respect to the path of the pin as to provide room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin into the gutter and for passage of the pin when re moved to position for lateral withdrawal from the gutter.

5. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods and a knuckle pin joining them, and a wheel connected with one of the side rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and a radially corrugated web joining the hubs and rim and having the gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin flattened and broadened as compared with the other corrugations, and of such size and position as tolie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions and to provide room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin.

6. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods and a knuckle pin joining them, and a wheel connected with one of the side rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and a web joining the hubs and rim, the web having a gutter facing the knuckle pin and of such size and position as to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions and to provide room for removal of the knuckle pin into the gutter and for passage of the pin when removed to position for withdrawal from the gutter.

'7. In a locomotive, driving means including main and supplemental side rods, a knuckle pin uniting the rods and a wheel connected to the main rod adjacent the pin, having a tire, a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and a corrugated web joining the hubs and rim, made up of outwardly flaring corrugations of equal sectional area for the .same angular extent throughout substantially all of the flare of any individual corrugation, and having the gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin and of such size and position as to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the Wheel positions and toprovide room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin.

8. In a locomotive, driving means including main and supplemental side rods and knuckle pin joining them, and a wheel connected to the main side rod adjacent the knuckle pin, having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a radially corrugated web joining the hubs and rim, providing bends at front and rear wheel faces and gutters within the bends and having the gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin of such size and position as to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions .and to provide room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin and the corrugations being apertured within the front bends.

9. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods and a knuckle pin joining them, and a Wheel connected with one of the side rods adjacent the knuckle pin, having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a radially corrugated web joining the hubs and rim, providing bends at front and rear wheel faces and gutters within the bends and having the gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin in position to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions, the sides of the corrugations between their bends being apertured, the gutter and apertures being so located and of such proportions as to provide room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin.

10. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods, a knuckle pin uniting the rods and a wheel connected with one of the rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and a corrugated web joining the hubs and rim, made up of outwardly flaring corrugations having alternate bends in the front and rear wheel face, the bends in the rear face being imperforate, the gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin being of such size and position as to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions and to provide room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin.

11. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods, a knuckle pin uniting the rods and a Wheel connected with one of the rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and an apertured corrugated web joining the hubs and rim, made up of outwardly flaring corrugations having alternate bends in the front and rear wheel face, the bends in one of the faces being imperforate, a gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin of such size and position as to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions and providing room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin.

12. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods, a knuckle pin uniting the rods and a wheel connected with one of the rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and a corrugated Web joining the hubs and rim, made up of outwardly flaring corrugations, having the gutter of one of the corrugations facing the knuckle pin in position to lie back of the knuckle pin in one of the wheel positions and apertured at the sides of the gutter to facilitate pin removal, the gutter and aperturing being of such size and relation as to provide room for removal and replacement of the knuckle pin.

13. In a locomotive, driving means including side rods, a knuckle pin uniting the rods and a wheel connected with one of the rods adjacent the knuckle pin, the wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and an apertured corrugated web joining the hubs and rim, made up of outwardly flaring corrugations having alternate bends in the front and rear wheel face, a gutter in one of the corrugations being opposite one position of the knuckle pin in the path of movement of the knuckle pin with respect to the Wheel, and of such gutter dimension as to permit withdrawal of the knuckle pin and the bends in one of the faces being imperforate.

14. A locomotive driving wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and a radially corrugated web of substantially equal thickness and substantially equal strength at different distances from the center joining the hubs and rim and having the sides of the corrugations between the outside bends of the corrugations apertured for lightening purposes while maintaining the bends imperforate, securing maximum compressional and tensional strengths of the bends forming the inner and outer wheel faces.

15. A locomotive driving wheel having a rim, main and crank pin hubs and a counterbalance and a radially corrugated web of substantially equal thickness and substantially equal strength at different distances from the center joining the hubs and rim and having the bends at the inside wheel face subject to maximum compressive strains imperforate and the corrugations perforated outside of these bends.

CHARLES H. MEKEEL, JR. 

